Thursday, September 23, 2010

Patrick Grant: An Introduction

While those of us who were unable to attend London Fashion Week wait patiently for E. Tuatz's S/S 2011 collection to hit the internet and Barneys, I'd like to quickly talk about Patrick Grant. For those unaware, Patrick Grant is arguably Saville Row's most interesting personality. Patrick, age 38, is currently the youngest Guv'nor on Savile Row and received his MBA from Oxford. He runs the bespoke tailor Norton & Sons and their ready-to-wear subsidiary E. Tautz, who you might have readaboutrecently. He's nothing short of a menswear master even if he never really planned on getting into the business in the first place. As he told Swipe Life:

"It was an accident really, well, not an accident. A fabulous coincidence. I stumbled upon it completely by chance. I was at Oxford finishing off an MBA and a friend of mine was supposed to meet me for lunch. He called to say he couldn’t come, so I grabbed a copy of the Financial Times and sat and read it because there was nothing else to read. I got as far as the ‘Businesses for sale’ section and there happened to be an advert on that one day for Norton & Sons. There was just a little advert that said ‘Bespoke tailor for sale, 16 Savile Row. Contact Mr. Granger by letter’. That’s as much as it was planned. There was no planning whatsoever. It was just completely fortuitous.

I came and met the owner and came to the shop and looked around and having never worked in clothing before I just fell in love with the place. I’d always been very interested in craft and making things, I’d always worked in manufacturing companies and I’d always been very interested in clothes but I’d never thought ever, to work in the clothing and tailoring industry."

Seems like fate, no? Anyway, not only is this guy renowned for rescuing not one, but two iconic English "brands", but he's also one of the rare few working in menswear today that truly gets the whole style vs. fashion thing and the relationship between the two. And lest we not forget the attention to detail and craftsmanship (I mean, just look at a picture of a Norton & Sons suit) that is at work. From bespoke to ready-to-wear, from Saville Row to the runway, Patrick is someone you need to know about if you don't already.

3 comments:

With one stroke of the pen I tune in to your satellite radioor FM station; I've been patiently waitin, to weigh inBeen under construction for two yearsBut now it's 'bout that time I double-dutch my way inLeft foot, right foot, steppin over bitersIt's like the game is haunted cause there's so many ghostwritersMe, see I'm a lifer with supply that may seem endlessStraight rider like a biker on a chopper with a hitlistWitness, the nigga that spit that viciousPitbull attack shit when it comes to this rap shit... Daddy Fat Sax (bitch) follow us

Follow us, nowTry to all the way, nowIt's not another let, downGot somethin to say, right now

I know some of y'all done wrote a nigga offLike the leases on these cars and these homes you niggaz thoughtyou stayed in, with so many bosses why are they stilllayin niggaz off they job? Nigga for realGon' give a nigga a gig thenHelp a brother get up out this pigpenBut nobody wants to keep it pimpin or 110So with this pen I begin to illustrate from within, boy (boy)

Paint a pretty picture like I'm chillin with my friendsEverybody's got a pocket full of ends to spend

See Picasso couldn't blend, put it all together or fit inI'm like a crocodile walkin 'round with alligator skinYes I'm is, the product of the ghetto where I livedCall me Spongebob boy (boy) soaked up game as a little bitty kidAnd never been a lame, before the fame I was the shitAnd now I'm just Big, ya dig?

[Chorus]

Why don't you come and find outWhat this is all, aboutI, will only say this onceSo, come and follow us

See we not even gonna play with 'em eitherWe gon' la-la-lay it down every fuckin time we see 'emMake the club get crunk, yea, we them type of peopleBut wait, it's not a sequel, no wait, it's BB's prequelThe beginnin before the beginnin, spend it how you spend itThen, if you sell dope nigga stack it when you get itCan't trick it, or spend it until it's goneThat's slippery business holmes, gon' get you a business loanC'mon!

[Chorus]

Now I lay you niggaz downYou already sleep so bitch rest in eternal peaceYou still scared of the Boogeyman?I know you hatin but you know you was a 'Kast and a Goodie fanAin't no night light, it's light's outI put these lyrics up your ass so far you never get the mic outI know who LAWRENCE wanna sound likeWith that Fruity Loop bullshit, fuck nigga night-night

Love Norton and the new E. Tautz collection, but popped into Barneys the other day and E. Tautz shirts were $400 off the rack, the sweaters were $600+ and sportcoats were $3k+. It was was all great and the fabrics were lovely, but those are bespoke prices.

I don't think I'll ever reach the tax bracket required to be one of Patrick's customers, but I admire his work reviving Norton & Sons.

Check out this episode of the BBC documentary Savile Row. It was filmed a few years ago, but Patrick is interviewed throughout (though he doesn't appear until the 18th minute). Great stuff.http://wp.me/pM5DK-7K